Reliable journalist: Heckingbottom will not be Leeds manager next season

Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom will not be at Elland Road at the start of next season, according to a reliable journalist.

Alan Nixon, the Sun’s transfer expert, made the claim on his Twitter account when responding to a fan on Monday.

The fan asked if Heckingbottom would still be manager next season and Nixon replied with a very definite, “No”.

The fan pushed for more detail, on whether it was Andrea Radrizzani’s choice or if Heckingbottom himself wasn’t happy, but Nixon said he didn’t want to get into that right now.

This comes after Football Insider exclusively revealed in April that Radrizzani had decided that Heckingbottom would be sacked before the start of next season.

A well-placed source told us back then that Heckingbottom would be sacked, but the club hadn’t decided whether to act immediately or wait until the summer.

Football Insider verdict:

This doesn’t come as a surprise to us, after we broke the exclusive way back in April. And it won’t come as much of a surprise to Leeds fans, although they might wonder why it’s taken the club so long to act. The fact is, Heckingbottom had ample time to prove himself last season and made the situation worse than the previous manager. His form was terrible – like a relegation candidate – and Leeds can’t risk that this season. It’s the right move but they need to act fast as the summer transfer window is open. They’ve been stalling on certain deals that were seemingly progressing and that made us think that an announcement about Heckingbottom could be imminent. It looks like that’s the case and we wouldn’t be surprised to hear something in the next 48 hours. It would be a big step forward for the club but they have to make sure their next appointment sticks.

Dave is a huge Leeds fan and ardent disciple of Bielsa ball. He knows how high the stakes are this year, with the Premier League in touching distance, and is currently watching every game from between his fingers. He's got some advice for the Bamford haters at the moment – "keep it to yourself" and can't wait to see Big Kev lighting up Elland Road.

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